Cloth dyeing and finishing process and product



c. H. CROWELL. CLOTH DYEING AND FINISHING PROCESS AND P RODUCT.

APPLICATION FILED APRv 30, I9I8- 1,370,412, Patented Mar. 1, 1921 COA OfifD WAX UNl T-ED- STATES en rsnr OFFICE.

CHARLES H. CROWELL, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

cLorn DYEING AND rmrsnmo raocnss am) rnonuc'r.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 30, 1918. Serial No. 231,665.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CrrARLEs H. CRowELL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Brooklyn, county of the resulting colored and calendered or I otherwise finished wax-treated cloth produced thereby. Cloth, such as sheeting or print cloth, for instance, can be taken in its unbleached condition as it. comes from the loom and rapidly and cheaply dyed and finished by applying thereto a thin and substantially uniform layer ofmolten colored waxy material, the cloth being simultaneously calendered, if desired, and also chilled if it is desired to maintain its smooth calendered appearance. This treatment may be -given to one or both sides of the fabric,

and, if desired, such a thin colored waxy layer may be applied to only one side of the cloth so as to penetrate'and impregnate the interwoven threadson that side of the fabric which may be simultaneously chilled to prevent undesirable penetration, so that the fibers of the fabric on the untreated side may be maintained in more or less their original condition which is desirable insome cases where the cloth is to be adhesively secured as by gumming or other processes to articles or packages. Although the waxy composition may advantageously be colored by incorporating or dissolvin therein suit a l e anilin or other colors w en a dyeing or coloring action on the fabric is to be secured, yet this is not in allcases necessary and the ordinary uncolored paraflin or other waxy material may be used in some cases. .Suflicient waxy material may be incorporated with the fabric so as to stiffen one or more sides thereof and this facilitates iving thereto either a smooth calendered nish or an embossed or moir finish by assing the fabric through suitably sur aced rolls or other pressing devices. By treating in this way suitable close textured cloths or fabrics they may be waterproofed to the desired extent at the same tune that they are.

coloredand water-resistant fabric suitable;

YA scraper .or'

for raincoats, umbrella cloth, tents and awnings may thus be cheaply and effectively produced.

' The drawing shows in a somewhat dia grammatlc way an illustrative form of apparatus for carrying out this process and samples of fabric produced.

Ifi re 1 is a longitudinal section through an ll ustrative form of apparatus.

F1g. 2 is an enlarged cross-section through a QItlOD of 'treated fabric and 1g. 3 is a similar view showing another kind of fabric.

Various kinds of-cloth even if in the original unbleached condition in which they come from the loom may be readily dyed, finished and rendered waterproof to the desired ex-' Patented. Mar. 1, 1921.

convenient handling in the dyeing and finishing process. A supply roll 18 of such material may bemounted on the machine and the web of cloth may be led therefrom over .a guide roll 17 andmore or less around the presser roll 5 of heavy rigid construction and mounting. This roll may in most cases be advantageously formed with a hard smoothly finished periphery and its trunnions 9 may in some .cases be formed hollow so that cooling liquid may be supplied during the process to the chilling space? with- 1 in-this metallic roll; This presser'roll is mounted to cooperate with a color applying or carrier roll '1 preferably of accurately and smoothly finished periphery and, having its journals 'mounted in the adjustable trunnion box or bearings 11 with which the adjusting screws 12 coo rate so as to accurately adjust the position of the roll with respect to the resser roll 5 above. This carrier roll is supp ied with the colorin or waterproofing material such as the co ored war: 3 which may be contained in a suitable tank 2- and maintained in the desired hot melted condition by any suitable "heater, such as the gas heater 15 supplied with gas throu h the -adjuSting valve 16 octor device, such as the doctor roll A, may cooperate with this'carrier rollwhich may, if desired, be positively rotated .in unison with the cooperating presser roll above as indicated by the arrows; The doctor roll 4 may be mounted in adjustable trunnion blocks 13 and have its position accurately adjusted by the screws 14 so that it can be brought as close as desired to the surface of the carrier roll and thus insure a thin substantially uniform' layer of the melted colored wax being taken up from the tank and applied to the fabric carried around the presser roll. A minute film or layer of this melted colored waxy material is thus applied to the cloth and forced into the fibers thereof so as to impregnate the fibers more or less uniformly throughout the fabric, or whereonly a very thin layer is applied the waxy material can be forced into the fibers on the exposed surface of the fabric in a substantially uniform manner so as to color and waterproof them while the other side of the fabric may remain comparatively free from the waxy material. This is of course promoted by rapidly chillin the, "melted wax after it is applied to or forced into the cloth and the use of a relatively hard or high melting waxy composition is desirable for this purpose and also the use of suitable cooling or chilling devices, such as a cooled or chilled presser roll, or the preliminary chilling or cooling of the fabric considerably below the melting point of the waxy composition applied thereto.

Relatively hard parafiin wax may be used to considerable extent in these waterproofing waxy coloring and treating compositions and for some purposes the waxy material may consist largely or wholly of such hard "paraflin having a melting point of 130 to 14.0

degrees Fahrenheit, more or less, although for some purposes softer, cheaper grades of parafiin may be used especially if incorporated with suitable proportions of harder and higher melting point waxes, such as carnauba and ceresin or the like. Stearic acid may be advantageously used to a considerable extent and where 25 to 40 per cent.

. course involve ofstearic acid is employed in connection with paraffin wax it is possible to introduce, if desired, suitable non-waxy sizing materlal, such, for instance, as casein or bone glue which have been dissolved with strong water solutions of borax or other suitable material before incorporation with the melted w-axy'material which must be thoroughly stlrred and mixed and kept iii a homogeneous condition during the process of appllcat ion tothe fabric preferably by the use of suitable stirring devices in the tank, including the agitating action of the carrier roll 1, for example. In some cases also a relatively small quantity of silicate of soda can be similarly used with the waxy materm] and these agueous components which of or best results the use of a suitable amalgamating agent to promote miscibility with the wax, such as stearic acid or various soap compositions, preferably involve the use of supplemental drying arrangements where the moisture is to be completely eliminated from the treated cloth. For general use, however, the waxy composition may be composed of hard parafin wax of about 135 degrees Fahrenheit melting point with which one to five per cent. of stearic acid may be incorporated. Where, as is usually desirable the waxy composition is to have a coloring or tinting action on the cloth the colors are incorporated with the wax composition as by the incorporation of about a half per cent. more or less of oil soluble anilin or other suitable colors. with the wax which may usually be faciliated by dissolving or cutting such oil soluble anilin colorin a relatively small proportion of turpentine at increased temperature, if desired, before uniformly mlxing the color with the melted waxy composition. In some cases considerably more stearic acid can be used in the waxy composition and this component may in some 1nstances be used to about the same extent as the paraffin wax and more or less Japan wax may be incorporated with this mixture for some purposes. Another illustrative composition may comprise e ual parts of paraflin wax, stearic acid an Japan wax and the oil soluble anilin or other colors may be dissolved in the melted wax composition before application to the fabric in this .plication "of a substantial amount of such relatively hard waxy material tends to re-. tain the smooth or calendered finish on the rapidly moving fabric. As is indicated in Fig. 2'the fabric may be relatively smooth on both surfaces and the filling threads 22 flattened and forced into the interwoven warp threads 23. Fig. 2 also indicates by the cross-hatched lower portion of the sectioned fabric the "approximate extent to which the colored wax may penetrate and impregnate the fibers of the fabric, the dissolved color bein thus instantly carried into the fibrous fa ric to the desired extent so as to permanently color the same as well as give it the desired water-repellent or waterproof properties and somewhat .in- I crease its stiffness. A moderately thin application of colored wax of this character may apply 40 to 50 pounds or so of the colored waxy material to a thousand yard length of sheeting or print cloth and where carefully and uniformly'applied in this way the fibers on the untreated side of the fabric may be in substantially their original condition and give ample adhesion in connection with glue, gum or generally similar adhesive compositions so that the treated and colored fabric may be adhesively secured to articles, such as booksfpads or packages, if the adhesive is applied to the untreated side of the fabric of relatively close woven character. Such a thin wax coating does not give even to the treated side of the fabric an objectionably waxy or greasy appearance or feel, and, indeed, in some cases a light wax treatment of this "kind improves the appearance of the fabric. If desired, of course, the fabric may be more completely impregnated with the waxy material and this may be conveniently and cheaply effected by applying the waxy composition first to one side of the fabric and then to the other, or in some cases by applying a heavier or thicker layer of the waxy material to one side of the fabric. In some cases it is, of course, desirable to give the fabric an uncalendered appearance after treatment and this may be effected by forming the presser roll 5 with a relatively soft or yielding body or surface 27, the thickness of which is considerably exaggerated, as for instance, by coating it with rubber or the like or winding around the roll a number of layers, of cloth which are secured in this position before the web of fabric is led between the presser roll and the cooperating carrier or wax applying roll. In this way treated or 'waterproofed colored fabric may be produced in which the threads project to about the same extent as in the original untreated cloth, as is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 3,.the filling threads 24 being indicated as more or less projecting beyond the adjacent warp threads 25. In'this instance, the waxy materialis indicated as having more or less penetrated and impregnated the entire fabric as is indicated by the widely spaced cross-hatching of this fi re and where colored waxy material is used the color may in this way be carried thoroughly into and through the interwoven fibers of the cloth.

One or more chilling rolls may act on the fabric before or after the waxy material is applied thereto, and in Fig. 1 a second chilling roll 6 is indicated as cooperating with the fabric web subsequently to the presser roll 5. By the use of suitable guide rolls 19.

'20, the web of fabric may be led around these chilling rolls throughout a greater part of their circumference and the chilling roll 6 may be provided with an internal chilling space 8 and with hollow trunnions 10 as previously described. After the fabric has been chilled and dried to the desired extent where the composition contains more or less water or other volatile material, it may be rewound or packaged inany suitable way, as for instance, by winding the fabric web on the rewinding roll 21 which makes the entire process a continuous one which can continue in a substantially'uniform manner while the long webs of one or two thousand yard lengths are being treated. The cloth may be dyed and finished in this way at a relatively rapid rate and the cloth web may, for example, be passed through the" machine at speeds of a number of hundred feetper minute which at a single operation dyes or colors the cloth to the desired shade andv also Waterproofs and stiflens it to' the extent desired with a minimum of time and expense in marked contrast to the usual bleaching, dyeing and finishing processes generally employed. It is of course understood that where it is not desirable to directly use the large rolls of the finished fabric such large rewound rolls as v21 may be passed through suitable winding machines and wind up into bolts or smaller rolls or slit or divided into narrow strips of sheets for various purposes.

This invention has been described in connection with a number of illustrative embodiments, forms, proportions, materials, conditions and orders of steps and apparatus and parts for carrying out the same. to the details of which disclosure the invention is 'not of course to be limited, since what is' claimed as new and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is Skt forth in the appended claims:

1. The process of dyeing and finishing unbleached cloth which comprises applying to and momentarily forcing against one side of the cloth a thin substantially uniform layer of molten colored waxy waterproofing material comprising'parafiin wax in which anilin coloring matter has been dissolved so that such waxy material penetrates and impregnates the interwoven threads on one side of the cloth and colors the same, and increases the weight of the cloth not more than about a twentieth of a pound per square yard, and simultaneouslyz calendering the cloth and chilling its untreated side to produce a calendered colored waterproof cloth in which the fibers of the untreated'side are in substantially their original condition.

2. The process of dyeing and finishing cloth which comprises applying to one side of the cloth a thin substantially uniform layer of molten colored waxy material comprising parafiin wax in which anilin coloring matter has been dissolved so that such waxy material penetrates and impregnates the interwoven threads on one side of the cloth and colors the same, and increases the weight of the cloth not more than about a twentieth of a pound per square yard, and simultaneously chilling the untreated side of the cloth to produce a colored cloth in which the fibers of the untreated side are in substantially their original condition. 3. The process of coloring and finishing cloth which comprises forcibly applying to one side of the cloth a thin substantially uniform layer of molten colored waxy material of high meltingv point comprising paraflin wax so that such wax material impregnates the interwoven t reads on one side of the fabric and colors the same and simultaneously calendering the fabrlc to produce a calendered colored fabric.

4. The process of coloringand finishing cloth which comprises applying to one side of the cloth a thin substantially uniform layer of molten colored waxy material so that such waxy material impregnates the interwoven threads on one side of the fabric and colors the same.

5. Theprocess of finishing cloth which comprises appl ing to one side of the cloth a thin substantially uniform layer of molten waxy material comprising parafiin wax in which anilin coloring matter hasbeen dissolved so that such waxy material penetrates and impregnates, the interwoven threads on one side of the cloth and increases the weight of the cloth not more than abouta twentieth of a pound per square yard, and simultaneously chilling the un-' treated side of the cloth to produce a cloth in which the fibers of the untreated side are in substantially their originalcondition.

6. The colored and finished cloth fabric comprising woven cloth having the fibers on one side thereof penetratedj'and impregnated with colored waxy waterproofing material comprising large proportions of parafiin 'wax in which anilin coloring matter has been dissolved so as to color and waterproof the treated side of the fabric and increase the weight of the cloth not more than about a twentieth of a pound per square yard, said fabric being calendere d on its treated side while the exposed fibers on the untreated side of the fabric are in substantially their original'conditio'n.

been dissolved so as to color and waterproof the treated side of the fabric and the weight of the cloth, 8. The finished cloth increase fabric comprising woven cloth having the fibers on the one side thereof impregnated with waxy waterproofing material comprising parafiin wax so as to waterproof the treated side of the fabric and increase the wei ht of the cloth 4 not more than about a twentieth of a pound per square yard while the exposed fibers on the untreated side of the fabric are in substantially their original condition.

9, The finished cloth fabric comprising woven cloth having the fibers on the one side thereof impregnated with wax waterproofing material comprising para 11 wax, while the exposed fibers on the untreated side of the fabric are in substantially their original condition.v

CHARLES H. OROWELL. Witness:

CAROLYN F. Hum. 

